Sewing machines



June 7, 1960 P. o. RUTISHAUSER 2,939,413

- SEWING MACHINES Filed May 14, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 64 1 Fig.1

June 7, 1960 ,P. o. RUTISHAIUSIER 2,939,413

SEWING MACHINES.

2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 14, 1954 FIG.9

United States Patent 2,939,413 sEwlNG MACHINES 7 Paul 0. Rutishauser, Wil, Switzerland, assignmto Regina Sewing Machines CorporatiomNew York, NY. FiledMay14, 1954, Sex-(No. 429,880 Claims priority, application Switzerland May 30, 195 3 Claims. (c1; ria -s) This invention relates to a so-called zigzag sewing-machine" having a'free arm containing a lo'op'er for cooperating'wi-th' a reciprocab-le needle; which is swingable to'a'nd fro at right angles to the material feeding dewee.

The present invention is characterized by the incorporation of two"disengageable control earns, each of which is adapted to act on the needle swinging mechanism and being movable about a common axis by hand, one control' earn serving to adjust the extent of the reciprocal defiectio'n' of the needle for zig-zag switching, and'the other serving to adjust the needle for lateral displacement of the sewing axis; and an insertable double-control cam for elfecting the same adjustments automatically, the whole arrangement being such that the hand or antomatic control elements may be selected for operation, as desired.

"zig-zag sewing machine constructed in accordance with the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, by way of example; k In said drawings:

:Fig. 1 is'a front view of the'rnachine with the trout Wall removed audits driving wheel being shown in'secfion-l H Fig. 2 shows the driving wheelwith a winding pin :in outwardly projected position." 1

Fig. 3 is :a plan view of the mechanism for adjusting the length of ..stitc'h.

"Fig.4 is a-view taken on line B -IV, Fig. '1.

Fig. 5 is a side view o f t he inserted for automatic control;

Fig. 5a is a sectional view of the control means of Fig. .5, showing the normal condition of the machine formannet control. 7 Q j Fig 5b is a sectional view of the control means of Fig. 5 with the cam discs for automatic zig-zag operationin position; i

"Fig; 5c is :a front view of -the hinged cover and assoeiate'd elements; 3 i

Fig. 6 is an external view of the hand-operable control' rnern bers;

' Fig.7 is an exploded view of the handwheel, knurled nut, and winding 'pin "mechanism of Fig. '2; Fig. '8'is a -sectional view of'the worm wheel-and cams, showing the splines serving as cluteh'means; and Fig; 9 is an elevation view cf a portion of the drive mechanism showingthe meshing gears and drive fshaft.

Referring now 'tosaid drawings, *1 denotes a casing comprising an upper part, lower part, and 'b'ase plate. Located in the lower part of said casing, and secured to the base-"plate, is a driving motor 2 which also includes a transformer for supplying lighting current. On the .drivingshaft 3 of motor 2 is secured a roughened wheel 4 which engages in a co-axial groove '6. formedlinghand :wheel 15. f The outer wall of'g'roove 6'is also provided "withsarroughened surface. Rotatably mounted tongha'nd wheel 5 is'fa knurled nut '7"which 'internally'accommodates a cam jggroove 8. Awinding device consistingjof a disc 9 twopins '10, and awindingpin 11, is located within hand wheel 5 and nut' 7,"'and,by meansgof a sliding element-9a on its periphery, is in engagement with said cam groove'tl (Fig.7). v v "Furthermore, 'disc '9is provided, on its side facing control means with 2,939,413 Jun 7, 1- 59 Patented sea s; 1 wit ra wer .12 hich when ig-si s SitiQs 5h we is ie l 92 rag d ribs .1 Pw i s si he 1% p e ts i i f an 4 79 de- 7 L ted' by g gin's' nu by h d opposite the arran er r tation o hand wheel whe y groove8 efiects displacement of the winding device 9, 19; ll, wh h, by eassm bf ts pi s!!! is Pt r ta le relativeto hand'wheelfi'. I i

- Said ha 14 q Y the s s e Wh e 1. i d i more 1 d menus; the ms sm nt sf 2 1s- H device 17 which is capable s wn ms mefi iw tr al. s e a s izss a of the ater a 5 d i 's We t 184 rta i n abou an centr c 21 9 are H U e tent s he smal i .msveme'lii P S t ,2 w is s was 61 mant s ns da s. b Way s ew 23, is governed'by' the position of a grooved element 2.4 salsa-able byrg u of the leve .5; via ha Loeated Ion i sa'id' lever 25 is afscrew 2,7 projecting .i iatlt ss sf h m hi g The saw hen in flushes, een agai the e t has? late .29 d e t he En n 9 a iaxispjsh I i ggraa gzt s a rip cease 0 e9 .1 s idaab Rn msst m v etel-n6 is transm t e hrou h arm 32 s me .bs fliemie mesa d ans- 7 If l ver 25, by niryu at c of ew 27 ,lis sai 9 ea a a n t t e ti ht e a; tlssn heswsve m mbe ,6. I? material being sewn is jfed without necessity for reversing .n of shaft 1 he te the lufi ks the sh t m) i er- .r m Jss ewZZ nithsmi quefi ialdis- 11 9 5 hel gn Positi n on'blst T rangement shown in drawing allows an accurate adjust ment of the :le gthof stitch and an immediate changelover t sewi g 11,1 a r r rs lq es en d si e with the sam lengthv o stit h- Members (-nq t l wli) ar adapted vtonnagesin. tlant re easetitsf pmthe influenc :ofeccentric 21, whereby fthe material fe ed device '17 is lowered into the casing and .disconti-nues to feed the material. The engagement {and disengagement of'pin '20 may be efifected by hand or automatically, on attaching ;a darning plate.

' Ashaft 34 is driven byshaft '14 by way of a belt 33, whereby I the up and down movement of a needle bar 35 with-a ncedle 36- is efiected by-means of an eccentric 37 and linlr's 38, 39, 41]. 'Saidneedle bar is supported and guided bya frame 41 which is adaptedtorswing about afppint 42, and-the control of t-his swinging movement, 'inter 'alia, sets the standard for *the of stitch which has been selected. Shaft 34 drives, by way ofa worm '7 43, a wheel 44 fixedly mounted on a hollow shaft 45. The end face of shaft 45 adjacent the front of the machine is provided with radial splines 46 so as to form a first clutch means. For the automatic adjustment of the needle bar, there are provided two cam discs 47 and 48, which are mounted on a shaft 49 fitted the hollow part of shaft 45. Radial grooves or splines 50 of the cams form a second clutch means and mesh with the first clutch means, i.e. the splines'46'of said shaft 45.

Said. cam disc 47 functions to adjust the sewing *axis of the needle. By means of a spring 51a, a lever 51, with an adjustable pin 52 bears against cam disc 47 and pivots about a point 53. Pin 52 (Fig. l) is threadedly engaged in arm 51 and may be turned to adjust its protruding length from arm 51 to the cam face of cam 47. Pivotally mounted on lever 51 is a grooved member 54 whose movement is effected by a cam-follower block 57 rotatably disposed thereon and engaging in a cam groove 55 of a roller 56. Said roller 56 is driven from shaft 34 by way of gear wheels 58, 59, the latter of which'is located on the same shaft 60 as the roller 56. The movement of member 54 is transmitted, by way of a grooved block 62 which slides in the groove 61 of member 54, to a lever 63 which, in turn, imparts movement to the needle bar frame 41.

Cam disc 48 serves to automatically adjust and vary the overstitch width for the zig-zag operation by controlling, through pin 64, the movement of a bifurcated lever 65 which acts directly on lever 63 and, as far as necessary, effects the displacement of grooved block 62 in groove 61. I Fig. 5a illustrates the'normal condition of the sewing machine, in which the zig-zag width adjustment as well as the needle position may be adjusted by hand. By swinging the cover 66 (shown in Fig. 5c) outwardly, together with the handwheels 67 and 68, the cam discs 47, '48 for automatic zig-zag operation can then be inserted, as shown in Fig. 5b. By swinging the cover 66 back into position, the discs 47a and 48a are pushed outwardly, i.e. toward the left in Fig. 5b, in opposition to the spring, so that the handwheels 67, 68 protrude somewhat from the cover 66. Fig. 5c shows a front-view of the cover 66 and elements 67, 68.

Cam discs 47, 48 may be of diverse shapes and may be changed as desired. In order to use the sewing machine only for hand control, the twocams 47 and 48 are removed and replaced by the cams 47a and 48a (Fig. 4) which are rotatably mounted on a hinged cover 66. These two cams 47a and 48a are operably connected with members 67, 68, respectively, which are hand-actuable externally of casing 1, and adjustment or displacement of the cams is not affected by rotation of shaft 45.. A segment 70 must be raised in order to permit opening of cover 66, and a rod 71 secured torsegment 70 is raised simultaneously. Said rod 71 engageslevers 51 and 65 and disengages them from the cam discs 47 and 48 or 47a and 48a, respectively, so that new cams may be readily inserted. In other words, as best shown in Fig. 1, the rod 71 serves as a transverse lifting bar to engage levers 51 and 65 (which normally press against the cam discs with their respective pins 52 and 64), so as to lift these levers away from the cam discs when the latter are being exchanged. A spring 75 (Figs. 5a and 5b), disposed between cover 66 and cam disc 48a, ensures that the cams are always in register with the appropriate levers 51 and 65. 1

The sewing area, is illuminated by a small lamp (not shown) which is accommodated in the cover in front of the needle bar frame 41, its light shining through openings in the cover. The cover'plate of the free arm ofthe looper is removable and replaceable by a darning plate. In other respects, the machine embodies the usual attachments, such as an extension supportfor the material, .threadguides, and interchangeable presser foot members.

I claim:

1. A zig-zag sewing machine, comprising a housing having a free arm and having a needle bar reciprocable from above toward and away from said arm and swingable horizontally, a mechanism'operatively connected with said needle bar for imparting swinging'movement thereto, control means linked with said mechanism for controlling said mechanism, said control means having two coaxial cams manually rotatable for controlling the amount and position of said swinging needle-bar movement respectively, said two cams being selectively engageable and disengageable relative to said mechanism, and a pair of cams for automatic control of said amount and said position respectively, said cam pair being selectively insertable and being linked with said mechanism when said manually controllable cams are disengaged, and drive means for rotating said cam pair in dependence upon operation of said needle bar, whereby the machine can be set selectively for manual and automatic control operation.

2. In a zig-zag sewing machine having a needle bar reciprocable up and down and swingable horizontally, the combination with said sewing machine of a material feeding device comprising a material-entraining part lo,- cated beneath said needle bar and displaceable horizontally to vary the stitch length, a lever connected with said part and having an adjustable set screw, an angular stop member, said lever being spring biased toward engagement of said screw with said stop member, whereby the adjusted setting of said screw determines the stop position of said lever and part and thus the length of the stitches. V 3. In a sewing machine according to claim 1, comprising a first lever having one end pivoted and having the other end bifurcated, said first lever being in engagement with the one of said cams of said pair serving for the control of'the amount of swinging needle-bargmovement, said mechanism having a second lever linked with said needle bar, a roller having a cam slot, a grooved member slidable in said slot, said second lever being linked with-said grooved member whereby the position of said member determines the stitching position, a medially-pivoted third lever having one end linked to said grooved member and having the other end in engagement with the other cam of said pair to be controlled thereby.

4. A sewing machine according to claim 1, comprising a motor-driven main shaft, said drive means for rotating said cam pair having a drive shaft, a belt transmission connecting said drive shaft with said main shaft, ,a worm mounted on said drive shaft, a gear meshing with said worm, first clutch means on said gear, and said pair of cams being co-axially mounted relative to said gear and having second clutch means in clutching engagement with said first clutch means. I

5. In a sewing machine according to claim 1, a cover hinged to said housing, said two manually operable cams being mounted on said cover, said control means having respective cam-follower levers engaging said respective two cams when said cover is in closed position and being disengaged from said cams when said cover is in open position, and said automatic cam pair being insertable only when said cover is open and said manual cams are disengaged.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,551,453 Aronson et al Aug. 25, 1925 2,056,829 Colegrove et a1. Oct. 6, 1936 2,297,197 Bolter Sept. 29, 1942 2,412,456 Hamlett Dec. 10, 1946 2,623,487 Marasco Dec. 30, 1952 2,653,557 Casas-Robert et a1 Sept. 29, 1953 2,682,845 Casas-Robert et al. July 6, 1954 2,684,649 Scarpa July 27, 1954 2,725,023 Ayres Nov. '29, 1955 2,741,202 Pfaff Apr. 10, 1956 

